U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,621 granted to Philip J. Mazziotti Oct. 22, 1974 discloses a seal boot and a protective shield or cover for a universal joint that forms a driving connection between a drive shaft and a front road wheel of a motor vehicle. The seal boot encloses the working parts of the universal joint and it is flexible in order to accommodate joint angulation. The protective shield is a rigid, bell shaped member that is mounted on the shaft to protect the flexible seal boot from stone and gravel impingement and abrasive wear of foliage wiping over the flexible seal boot in "off road" service.
A drawback of the rigid Mazziotti shield is that it is necessarily spaced from the housing of the universal joint in order to accommodate joint angulation. Consequently portions of the flexible seal boot are still exposed to stone and gravel impingement and to abrasive wear of foliage wiping over the flexible seal boot when the vehicle is operated "off road" or in other harsh and abusive environments such as agricultural fields and the like.